Palau Güell facade, Barcelona

Palau Güell on Carrer Nou de la Rambla, a few steps off La Rambla, the city mansion Gaudí began in 1886 for his great patron Eusebi Güell. The gray stone front is severe for Gaudí, built to fit a narrow street. Look low: two arched doorways wide enough for horse-drawn carriages, with a tall wrought-iron Catalan coat of arms between them. Inside, the rooms rise around a central hall under a dome, so the plain facade hides one of his most theatrical interiors.